Sheldon Hawkes

Physical description (a picture can be enough)Hawkes was a child prodigy who graduated from college at eighteen, and by 24 he was a fully board-licensed surgeon. After a tumultuous surgical career in which he was often at odds with his boss and after losing two patients on the operating table (shown in flashback in episode 309, "And Here's To You, Mrs Azrael"), he abandoned surgery in favor of the medical examiner's office. He evidently sleeps at the morgue sometimes, as he has a cot there in episode 103, "American Dreamers."

Hawkes is a sympathetic soul who is willing to lend an ear to anyone who needs to talk. During "Murder Sings the Blues" (episode 307) he is shown in flashback to have met a girl at a party. The girl felt unhappy, so Hawkes took her out for a cup of coffee and listened to her tell him her troubles. Afterwards, he gave her his phone number if she ever felt like she needed to talk to him again. The girl is found dead two weeks later on board a subway car following a rave party, with Hawkes' phone number still on her person. Hawkes, when he discovers his phone number in the girl's possession, neglects to tell Mac about his connection to her, which earns him a dressing-down from Mac in front of the entire lab. Later, Hawkes apologizes to Mac for not disclosing how he knew the victim and tells his story. Their relationship has clearly mended by episode 309 ("And Here's To You, Mrs Azrael"), when Mac confides about his father's lingering death from cancer, and Sheldon comforts him. This dialogue also indicates that Hawkes is opposed to euthanasia.

In episode 304, "Hung Out To Dry," Hawkes is targeted by killer Shane Casey. Several years before, when Hawkes was the M.E., his testimony helped send Shane's brother, Ian, to jail for a robbery-homicide at a neighborhood pub. Ian Casey committed suicide while awaiting sentencing and Shane blamed several people, including Hawkes. Shane murders the jury foreperson and a witness to Ian's original crime before the team makes the connection to Hawkes and the previous case. In the episode "Raising Shane," Shane orchestrates a plot that implicates Hawkes in a robbery-homicide in deliberate imitation of Ian's case. Shane demands that the team find evidence to prove Ian's innocence in return for the evidence that will exonerate Hawkes. Though the team is assigned to a different case because of a conflict of interest, they find that the new case is, strangely enough, connected to Hawkes', and through the team's diligence, they are able to help clear Hawkes' name and secure his freedom, as well as prove Ian Casey's guilt in a twist of tragic irony and Shane was arrested. On his release, Sheldon is warmly embraced by Stella Bonasera.

While investigating the death of a diving instructor, Sheldon briefly becomes trapped underwater. Despite being injured and suffering from hypoxia, Sheldon is freed with the help of fellow CSI Danny Messer, who was diving with him. After they are safe, Hawkes admits that he envisioned coroner Sid Hammerback preparing to do an autopsy on him (episode 402, "The Deep").

In episode 512, it was revealed that an ex-girlfriend of Hawkes' was a victim of a serial rapist years ago. The aftermath of the event led their relationship to fall apart. When the rapist strikes another victim, Hawkes becomes furious and a little obsessed with finding the rapist and putting him away, leading him to clash with Mac over the methods of obtaining evidence and over Hawkes' personal connection to one of the victims. He is removed from the case as a result. The rapist is eventually caught by Stella.

In episode 522, Sheldon reminisces to Danny Messer about his just-deceased uncle Frank, who had witnessed the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, and whose dignified resilience to racism, and pride in his nephew, had been formative in Sheldon's life.

At the start of season 6, the rest of the team notices how Sheldon appears distracted and insisting on working overtime a lot. In episode 606 "It Happened to Me," he's staying on the couch of a friend's apartment when the man is arrested for embezzlement. Sheldon claims he was just crashing for the night but Flack and Mac don't believe him. Chasing a suspect in the killing of a man who stole from his company, Sheldon talks the suicidal man down by revealing the truth: He has lost all his savings in a fraud scheme and was forced to sell his house. He confesses he was ashamed to tell anyone and Stella informs him he can count on friends for help. Proving her words, Mac lets Sheldon stay at his guest room until he gets back on his feet. On a later episode, Hawkes has revealed that he is moving to a new residence, while Mac joked about getting his sofa/couch back.

In the episode "Hammer Down", Sheldon displays his anger while interrogating a suspect with Flack. Being a doctor who had lost all of his savings in a scheme, he berated the suspect, who is also a doctor, for using the female victims' organs and body parts for transplanting, among other things for money while Flack watches. "Hammer Down" is part of the CSI trilogy in which Dr. Raymond Langston (played by Laurence Fishburne), of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation investigates the kidnapping of a young woman in Miami, who was later believed to have been taken from Las Vegas.

Sheldon becomes centralized in "Redemptio" when a death row inmate, played by Harold Perrineau, calls him before his scheduled execution, which was then delayed after a prison warden violently dies. A prison riot breaks out and Hawkes is trapped and must conceal that he is a CSI while trying to break out of the prison. The inmate, Reggie Tifford, confesses that he killed Hawkes' sister, while helping Hawkes escape. While trapped, Sheldon defends himself against rioters, goes after Shane Casey, is forced to claim Reggie's innocence to a double murder after attacking Reggie in a fit of rage, and reveals to his fellow CSIs about his sister through phone calls. His revealing shocks the CSIs, who then discuss about their family members and comparing their situations with Hawkes' keeping his sister a secret. It is then revealed that Shane has gotten a cop involved in starting the riot since the cop's family has been taken hostage by an accomplice of Shane. Reggie and the cop were eventually killed and a police uniform-clad Shane escapes, despite Hawkes, dressed in prison clothes to conceal his identity, claiming that it is the killer Shane. Later, Hawkes is reunited with the CSIs and goes to his sister's grave where he finally opens up about his career.

On the episode "Food For Thought", the usually reliable and smart Sheldon calls in sick so he can go on a date with an old friend Camille Jordanson, who was involved in a crime and kidnapped in the episode Smooth Criminal. The informal dinner date turns into an explosive crime scene. After one night of partying, Sheldon showed up late for work as Danny covers for him. He was later tested positive for cannabis sativa, which was determined by Mac. Mac gave Sheldon a mild scolding about his faking sick and the test result. But, Sheldon argued that the marijuana, which was found on Camille's bedside, was passive or second-hand. And that Sheldon have not had time for a personal life due to the high demands of his job. Mac lectured Shedlon about the oath they took that comes with their jobs, and tells Sheldon to go home and get some sleep. Camille shows up at Sheldon's place for another night.